Churn



July 27, 1965 Filed Aug. 19, 1963 July 27, 196 K- PLOCK ErAL GHURN 4Sheets-Sheet Z Filed Aug. 19, 1965 N .mt

4 Sheets-Sheet I5 MN 42N sa 3N RN 2N mmm QN EN KI PLocK ETAL GHURN July27, 1965 Filed Aug. 19, 1963 July 27,1965 K- PLOCK ET 196,542

CHURN Filed Aug. 19, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 4

3,196,542 CHURN Karl Pieck, Dortmund-Luecidemherg, Karl Quest, Dortmund,Anton Flaslramp, Munich, and Ludwig Eisenreich, Weihenstephan, nearFreising, Germany, assignors to Holstein Sz Kappert MaschinenfabrikPhonix @mhd-., Dortmund, Germany Filed Aug. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 392,373 3Claims. (Cl. 311-34) The present invention relates to butter makingchurns in general, and more particularly to an improved churn of thetype which is used for continuous production of butter.

It is an important object of our invention to provide a churn whoseoutput may be varied at will, which is of very simple and space-savingconstruction, and which may be readily combined with conventionalsqueezing, washing, or kneading machines such as are used for furthertreatment of butter issuing from a churn.

Another object of the invention is to provide a churn of the justoutlined characteristics which is constructed `and assembled in such away that its output may be varied not only when it is momentarily idlebut also when yit is in actual use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a churn which need notbe taken apart when the operator desires to change its output and whoseoutput may be varied infinitely between a maximal and a minimal value.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a churn of the aboveoutlined characteristics which is constructed and assembled in such away that at least some of its parts may be cleaned without necessitatingeven partial dismantling of the machine.

A noncomitant object of the invention is to provide a churn forcontinuous production of butter wherein the agitating member and thevessel for the agitating member need not change their positions withrespect to each other when it becomes necessary to vary the output ofthe churn.

With the above objects in View, one feature of our invention resides inthe provision of a butter making churn which comprises a preferablycylindrical vessel defining an internal chamber and arranged to receivestarting material (such as milk or cream) at one end and to dischargebutter and liquid at the other end thereof, a rotary agitating memberextending into the chamber and comprising a shaft which is coaxial withthe vessel, a motor drivingly connected with the shaft to rotate theagitating member whereby the material admitted at one end of the vesselis transformed into butter and liquid issuing at the other end of thevessel,

and an arrangement for reciprocating the vessel in the axial directionof the shaft or for reciprocating the agitating member in the axialdirection of the vessel to thereby vary the output of the churn whenevernecessary.

In accordance with another feature of our invention,

ythe output of the churn may be Varied by placing a suitable insert intothe chamber of the vessel so as to reduce the capacity of the chamberwhich is tantamount to a reduction in the output of the churn if therotational speed of the agitating member remains unchanged. Similarresults can be obtained by connecting the shaft of the agitating memberwith a variable speed electric motor so that the rotational speed of theagitating member is reduced when the operator desires to reduce theoutput of the churn.

' The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theimproved churn itself, however,

yUnited States Patent 0 CII 3,1%,5612 Patented July 27, 1965 ICC both asto its construction and its method of operation, together withadditional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood fromthe following detailed description of certain specific embodiments withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a partly elevational and partly axial sectional View of achurn which embodies one form of the invention and whose output may bechanged by varying the rpm. of the motor which drives the agitatingmember;

FIG. 2 is a similar partly elevational and partly axial sectional Viewof a somewhat different churn whose output may be varied by changing thecapacity of the chamber in which the agitating member treats thestarting material;

FiG. 3 is a further partly elevational and partly axial sectional viewof a modiiied churn whose output may be varied by changing the axialposition of the agitating member with respect to the vessel, the partsof the churn being shown in a position they assume when the outputreaches a maximal value; and

FlG. 4 is a similar view of the modied churn whose parts are shown in aposition they assume when the output is reduced to a minimal value.

Referring now in greater detail to the illustrated embodiments, and rstto FG. 1, there is shown a butter making churn A which comprises astationary housing lltl mounted on a base 11 by means of legs l2 andaccommodating a iixed cylindrical vessel i3 whose lefthand axial end isopen, as at 14, so that butter and liquid issuing from the agitating orchurning chamber 15 of the vessel may enter an outlet lo to bedischarged through a spout i7. This spout delivers butter and liquid toa washing machine of conventional design, not shown.

The chamber l5 accommodates a rotary agitating member or dasher ILSwhich comprises a shaft 19 carrying a series of axially parallelradially outwardly projecting blades or Vanes 2Q which extend into closeproximity of the internal surface of the vessel 13. The vanes Ztl aremounted on radial arms 21 which are fixed to the shaft 19, and thisshaft is driven by the output shaft 23 of a variable-speed electricmotor 22 whose casing 24 is bolted to the housing lil. The motiontransmitting connection between the output shaft 23 and the driven shafti9 comprises a suitable coupling 25 of any known design so that themotor 22 may be rapidly and conveniently disconnected from the agitatingmember 18 if the latter must be withdrawn for the purpose of inspection,repair, replacement or cleaning. The outlet lo is preferably detachablefrom the housing 1li so as to provide access to the open end 14 of thevessel 13 and to the agitating member.

The shaft ru extends through an antifriction bearing 2d provided in avertical end wall Z7 of the housing itl, and this end wall 27 isadjacent to the end wall 28 of the cylinder 13. The coupling 25 may bereached through a suitable door (not shown) provided in a tubularextension 29 of the housing 10 which is connected with the casing 24.

A conduit 30 which is led through the extension 2i! and through the endwalls 27, 2S serves to admit starting material into the chamber 15, andsuch material is thereupon agitated by the blades 2t? as soon as themotor 22 begins to rotate the shaft 19.

In many large milk processing plants, there are times when it becomesnecessary to change the output of one or more butter making churns. Forexample, it can happen that the output of a churn must be increased on aMonday so that the machine may process all of the cream or milk whichhas accumulated over the weekend, i.e., that the starting material maybe processed in the morning shift. Furthermore, it is often necessary totive of variations in the output.

vspeed motor.

-need not rotate with the -agiating member. v insert of half theaxiallength -of the rinsert ,131 may be Y .o ..3 l Y change ,the output of achurn by taking into considera'- tion the composition of the startingmaterial (i.e., they fat contents and the temperature of cream). On theother hand, it isA also desirable to discharge butter Yand` the liquidatfa constanty or nearly constant rate to avoid` frequent 'adjustmentsandruninterrupted supervision of 'machines which receive rbutter andliquid from the churn.

In other words,'it is very desirable totconstruct the churn in such away that its output ,may be variediniin'itely between a maximalV and aminimal value. Y Y

All an operator .has to doin order'to change the outa,

put of the churn A is to `vary the rpm. of the motor'ZZ so as to reduceor to increase the rotational speed 'ofthe blades 2G. By changing ther.p. m; of the driven shaft '19 We achieve the same result as byreducing or by increasing vthe eective axial length of the agitatingmember 18,' i.e.,

the output of the churn is changed in a' fully automatic way and suchchange may be brought'about at, the time when the churn is in actualuse. The exact construction of theY motor. 22 forms no part of thisinvention; for

of Vthe insert 131, as viewed in FIGjZ. The driven shaft 19 or 119thenrassurmes the form of a tube which is telescoped onto :the outputshaft. Thedriving connection betweenrsuch t'elescoped shafts may assumelthe form of splines, diametral bolts or the like. If the driven shaftis a tube, the output shaft vofthe mot-or 22 may extend ,all thewaytothe open end'14 vof the vessel 13.

Y `ingtlie motor 222and the' agitating" member 218 isreexample, we mayutilize a variable-pole motorvor we mayV Y vary the input (such as thefrequency) of thermortor in Y order to change its speed. The,arrangement is preferably such that the rpm. Vof the output shaft 23 isvariable Y infinitely between a maximum rpm. which corresponds tomaximal output of the churn anda minimum rpm.

Ywhich maycorrespondV to a SVO-percent dropin the outputvof the machine.Y Y

An important advantage of the churn A is that the entire chamber 15 maybe utilized atallV times irrespec- FIG. 2 illustrates a slightly modiedchurnv B which'differentiates from the churn Armainly in'that it`comprises a different agitating member 118 with shorter blades 120,. Yand with a shaft 119 which is detachably connected to the output shaft23 by the coupling means 25.' The right- `hand section of the chamber 15accommodatesY an insert or plug 131 having an axially parallel bore 134which communicates with the'conduit 30 softhat thev bore 134 may admitmilk or cream into the remaining portion of the chamber 15K. yThetinsert131'is providedwith a circumferential groove fora sealing ringj132 whichengages the internal surface of the cylinder 13. A sec-ond sealing ring133 is provided aroundthe discharge end of the conduit to prevent escapeof starting material intjo the space between theV left-hand Wall of theinsert 131V and the vend wall 28. This insert is further'provided withan'axial bore for the shaft 1719.

/ ByY utilizing an agitating memberrwith Vshorterbladesl .and byVreducing the capacity of the chamber VV1,5,

the output of the churn B is less than the output of churn A. Forexample, the insertl131 may reduce koutput from 1,000 kg./h. to 600kgJh. Gf course, the

ciprocableby an arrangement includin'gta handwheel 237 whichrotates aspindle 1238 rotatably mounted'in the 'base 21,1 and mating with aspindle nut 2381i, which is fixed to the casing 234. Ofco'ursefit isequally possible tofix the casing 224 to the base 211 and to reeiprocatethe vessel 213with its housingy 210 toward and 4away from the motor.Tbisrmodiic'ation is 4so obvious that it can be readilycomprehended'without requiring a f vseparate' illustration; v

.ln thisembodimen-t of our invention, the yshaft 219 of Vthe agitatingmember 218 maybe permanently iixed to the output shaft 223 of the motor'222 and, as shown in 'FIGS..3 Aand 4, thev output shaft 223 rotates inabearing sleeve 239fwhich-is fixed tothe casing y224' sro asto shareaxial-movements of the agitating member 21S. This bearving sleeve isprovided with Ia bore 234 which communicateswiththe material admittingconduit 230 and with the.v internal chamber 215v of the vessel 213. Thesleeve 239 carries a sealing ring 232which engages the internal surfaceof -the vessel 213. VThe construction of the outlet Y 216, of the spout217, of the vanesr220 and ofthe arms 221 is thefsa'me as in the churn Afor B.

g churn C, the handwheel 237 isrotated in a sense to move WhenVthevoperator desires to reduce the output of the vthe agitating member21S in a direction to the left, i.e., from the positionk of FIG. 3 tothe position of FIG. y4, whereby the left-hand end portions of the yanes220 extend beyond the'open end 214 ofthe vessel 213 so that theeffectivelength of theyagitatingv memberis reduced the the v output may alsobeyaried by changing the rpm. lof the Y lmotor 22 even though it isequally possible to change they output solely by furnishing the churnvof FIG.. 2 with two, three or more diiferent inserts each ofwhich'corref spends to a different output of the machine. In suchinstancesl the vmotor 22 may be replaced by a constant- When the userdesiresV to increase the .,output'to 1,0070

ykg/h., heremoves the outlet 16 and, after detaching the shaft 119 fromthe shaft 23,V withdraws the agitating member 118V :and thereupon theinsert 131. The insert A different used to reduce the output to 800 kg./h.

It willbenoted that, rather than byva'rying"V the output solely inresponse to changes in Lpfm. of the motor, the churn of FIG. 2 maychange its output by changing the elective axialy length of theagitating member and by changing the capacity of the vessel 13.y ,Y Y

Theychurn of FIG. lV or 2 may Vbe modified replacing the comparativelyshort output. shaft Z3 with' a longer shaft which extends beyond thelefthand side with attendant reduction in the capacity ofV the vessel213 Q and in the output of the machine.' In other words, that portionYof vthe agitating member 218 which extends-outwardly from and beyondthe Vopen end 214is not elfec- .tivefin theimaking of butter. Thespindle 238 and the nut 23MV lenable an operator to move the agitatingmemberV to an inlinite number 'of positions'each of which co1- respondsto a different Voutput of the churn. V,If desired, the motor Z22/may beof the variable speedtype even though anylconstantlspeed motor will dosince theV output of the churn C may be varied solely by changing theaxial positionV of the agitating member 218 withrespectto the vessel213' or vice versa. v

An important advantage of the churn C is that the Y bearing sleeve 239maybe Withdrawn entirely from the Avessel 213V for the purpose ofcleaning without necessitating even partial dismantling fof the machine.The output shaft 223 rotates in suitable antifriction bearings 24) whichare provided inthe sleeve 239, Y

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully re- Yveal the gistof the present invention that other can,by

applying current knowledge,v readily adaptitforvarious applicationswithout omitting features that,v from' the n standpoint ofV prior art,fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and4 specificaspects of this inven- .tion and, therefore, such adaptations should andare intended to be comprehended within the meaningand range ofequivalence ofy the following claims. y

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A butter making churn comprising cylindrical vessel means having aninternal chamber and arranged t0 receive starting material at Ione endand to discharge butter and liquid at the other end thereof; rotaryagitating means extending into said chamber and having a shaft which iscoaxial with said vessel means; and electric motor having an outputshaft drivingly connected with said first mentioned shaft so as torotate said agitating means whereby the material admitted into saidchamber is transformed into butter and liquid issuing from the other endof said vessel means; a bearing sleeve xed to said mot-or andsurrounding a portion of said first mentioned shaft, said sleeve beingreceivable in said chamber at said one end of the vessel means, and anarrangement for moving one of said means axially of the other means soas t0 vary the output of the churn, when necessary, said sleeveextending into and being Withdrawable from said chamber in response toreciprocation of said one means.

2. A churn as set forth in claim 1, wherein said sleeve is provided witha bore through which starting material is admitted into said chamber.

3. A churn as set forth in claim 1, wherein said agitating means furthercomprises a plurality of vanes adjacent to the internal surface of saidvessel and arms connecting said rst mentioned shaft with said vanes.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,020,878 ll/35Doering 31-34 X 2,721,062 10/55 Nanz 31-34 X SAMUEL KOREN, PrimaryExaminer.

HUGH R. CHAMBLEE, Examiner.

1. A BUTTER MAKING CHURN COMPRISING CYLINDRICAL VESSEL MEANS HAVING ANINTERNAL CHAMBER AND ARRANGED TO RECEIVE STARTING MATERIAL AT ONE ENDAND TO DISCHARGE BUTTER AND LIQUID AT THE OTHER END THEREOF; ROTARYAGITATING MEANS EXTENDING INTO SAID CHAMBER AND HAVING A SHAFT WHICH ISCOAXIAL WITH SAID VESSEL MEANS; AND ELECTRIC MOTOR HAVING AN OUTPUTSHAFT DRIVINGLY CONNECTED WITH SAID FIRST MENTIONED SHAFT SO AS TOROTATE SAID AGITATING MEANS WHEREBY THE MATERIAL ADMITTED INTO SAIDCHAMBER IS TRANSFORMED INTO BUTTER AND LIQUID ISSUING FROM THE OTHER ENDOF SAID VESSEL MEANS; A BEARING SLEEVE FIXED TO SAID MOTOR ANDSURROUNDING A PORTION OF SAID FIRST MENTIONED SHAFT, SAID SLEEVE BEINGRECEIVABLE IN SAID CHAMBER AT SAID ONE END OF THE VESSEL MEANS, AND ANARRANGEMENT FOR MOVING ONE OF SAID MEANS AXIALLY OF THE OTHER MEANS SOAS TO VARY THE OUTPUT OF THE CHURN, WHEN NECESSARY, SAID SLEEVEEXTENDING INTO AND BEING WITHDRAWABLE FROM SAID CHAMBER IN RESPONSE TORECIPROCATION OF SAID ONE MEANS.